India’s cricket calendar for mid-2026 has gained further clarity after the Board of Control for Cricket in India officially unveiled the itinerary for Afghanistan’s men’s tour. The visiting side will arrive in June for a short but significant assignment comprising one Test and a three-match One-Day International series.
The red-ball fixture will open the tour, with the two teams locking horns in a standalone Test at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium. The match is scheduled to run from June 6 to June 10, with the first ball set to be bowled at 9:30 AM IST each day.
Once the Test concludes, attention will shift to the 50-over format. The ODI leg of the tour will begin on June 14 at the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.
The action will then move to northern India, where the second ODI is slated for June 17 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. The series will conclude in the south, with the final ODI scheduled for June 20 at the historic MA Chidambaram Stadium.
All three ODIs are set to begin at 1:30 PM IST, maintaining a consistent start time throughout the white-ball leg.
Schedule for Afghanistan tour in India
| Date | Format | Venue | Time (IST) |
| June 6-10 | Test | New Chandigarh | 9:30 AM |
| June 14 | 1st ODI | Dharmshala | 1:30 PM |
| June 17 | 2nd ODI | Lucknow | 1:30 PM |
| June 20 | 3rd ODI | Chennai | 1:30 PM |
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The Mullanpur Test to be the second Red ball contest for India and Afghanistan
The India and Afghanistan Test cricket holds a rich heritage, as the duo faced each other in Afghanistan's first-ever Test cricket match. It happened in 2018 in Bengaluru, where the stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane sealed a win by an innings and 262 runs within just two days.
India's opening pair, Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay, both scored centuries. Afghanistan was bowled out twice in a single day (109 and 103 runs), setting a record for the most wickets (24) to fall on a single day in a Test match in India. Despite the defeat, the team was called by Rahane to have the photo with the Indian team and trophy.
Say for the ODIS, the teams have met each other just 4 times, with India winning three of them and one getting tied. The tie came in the 2018 Asia Cup, where both teams scored 253 runs. India secured a narrow 11-run victory while defending a modest total of 224 in the 2019 World Cup. Later, in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Rohit Sharma led the Indian team to defeat by 8 wickets with a century coming from the captain himself.
